Dark Angel
by Lithium012
Summary: This is a slight AU from the One Piece world because of a mention of a real life country in the story. But other than that, majority of it takes place in the world. This tells a tale about a fairy tale come true. What it is and how the Straw Hats will deal with that is a mystery. Keep reading to find out. No romance and rated M for mature themes told later on. Enjoy
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello everyone, this will be a third ongoing story cause my mind cannot be contained. (I know I have a problem). Anyways, this story will be a slight AU due to the fact I included a real life place in it. But mainly it will be within the context of the One Piece world. Note that there will an original character in it, but don't be alarmed, I'll try not to have them take away the glory of the rest. I hope you enjoy. :)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, just the idea. And no pairings. Rated M for mature themes discussed later in the story.**

The Mysterious Book

A calm breeze roars over Thousand Sunny as the Strawhat Crew prepare for some down time. Everyone was doing their own thing. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper were having fun running around the grassy deck of the ship. Nami and Robin were happily enjoying coffee and the sunshine while their slave cook, Sanji twirl around them, and attending to their every need. Franky is somewhere in the lower deck of the ship, making whatever adjustments to the various weapons he has. Brook is trying to give some tunes of encouragement to Zoro, as he trains. Just an average day on the ship.

But as the Straw Hats settle into whatever they are doing, a large vessel approaches them. The monster trio prepare themselves for a strong battle that never comes. Instead, something flies out from the ship and lands on the grass. Nami picks it up and flips through it.

"What is it? What is it!?" Luffy asks, looking all over. Nami moves to avoid Luffy looking in too deeply into the book. She's currently unsure of the purpose of the book, but she's hoping it's nothing strange. She hands it off to Robin.

"Do you know what it says?" Nami ask. Robin looks at the cover and furrows her brows.

"I'm not sure," she answers. "I don't know what the language is." Everyone gathers around the archeologist and stare at the book. It has a deep red cover with strange words written on the type. No one is able to read the words though.

"Wonder what it says."

"Who the hell cares?"

"I smell an adventure! Shishishi!"

"No it doesn't! Luffy! Don't make us do this!" The three cowards were already in tears, hoping Luffy doesn't get any weird ideas. Regardless, they weren't able to open the book anyways. It's tightly bounded with dark rope and Buddhist seals all over it. Luffy frowns and grabs the book.

"Zoro! Cut them off!" he demands. Zoro sets the book on the table and takes out his sword. He uses the weakest move he had to break the chains binding the book. When he did, a darken aura expels itself and shoots up into the air before being sucked back into the novel. The crew stares at the book, dumbfounded (except Luffy who thought that thing was cool).

"Yaaaah!" Nami screams. "THE BOOK IS HAUNTED!"

"NOOOO!" Brook shouts. Usopp hits him in the head.

"You're a talking skeleton!"

"Oh right. Yohohoho!" Luffy opens the novel and even more illegible writing appears. The crew struggle to understand what the book is saying.

"What language is this?" All of them wonder. The language the book seems to be in, primarily uses strokes. And each character has these complex strokes that made the character look impossible to understand. They frown at it.

"Robin, are you sure you can't translate this?" Nami asks.

"I could try, it might take me a while," Robin answers.

"You can do it Robin-Chwan!" Sanji cheers, his eye already turning into a heart. Zoro scowls at him and mutters something under his breath. Prompting them to fight. Nami sucker punch them in the head and give the book to Robin.

"Okay Robin! We're counting on you!" she grins. Robin smiles and disappear away.

~()()()~

Nearly three weeks later, the crew docks on a nearby island to stock up on material. While everyone goes out into the town to gather whatever they need, Robin and Chopper are heading to a local museum in hopes to uncover the language of the red book.

So far, Robin was able to uncover the title but she's unsure if the translation is even correct. When they walk in, Chopper immediately becomes amazed by the artifacts of the museum. Robin is amazed by them too, but there's no time to sight see. She needs to know what the book says.

"May I talk to the head of the museum?" she asks someone. They look warily at her but do not disobey her. The attendant hurries to get the head as Robin looks at the young reindeer. Chopper stares at a large clay statue representing a solider.

"Hey, Hey Robin! What are these statutes called?" Chopper asks.

"Hm…" Robin says. "I'm not sure."

"That is a replica of a Terracotta solider in the Shaanxi province in China," an elderly man says, walking up to the two Straw Hats. "We're not able to get the real ones, but the replica will do." Robin smiles at the elderly man, and looks at the looming statue. History has never been short of being amazing. "Someone asked for me."

Robin turns her attention back to the man. "I'm assuming you're the head of this museum," The elderly man nods. Robin holds the red book out to him. "I need you to translate this, I think I got the cover down, but I can't be too sure."

The man takes the novel into his hands and scans the title. He doesn't say anything and waits for Robin to give him her theory.

"I think it has something to do with Darkness, but I'm not too sure," she explains.

"You're half right. The title says Hēi'àn tiānshǐ (黑暗天使) which means 'Dark Angel'," the man says. "This book is an ancient artifact telling a story about two twins, one was born with a dark power while the other was born with a 'light' power. If you like, I can write down the translation for you." Robin nods and gives her thanks to the old man. He just smiles and grabs a sheet of paper.

"So ossan," Chopper says.

"Is that a talking raccoon?" the man asks.

"NO! I'm a reindeer! Can't you see they horns!?" The old man laughs. "Anyways, what language is that book in? None of us can read it."

"Ah, this is Traditional Chinese writing." They tilt their heads in confusion, but as the old man continues to explain, the language becomes clearer. Robin nods and begins to understand what the man is telling her. Chopper, on the other hand, remains confused. Robin just pats him on the head and smiles.

Once they finish, the two members head back to the ship. On the way, they bump into Sanji.

"Oi! Robin-Chwan! Did you figure out the book?" he asks. Robin nods and smiles at him, causing the chef to swoon and turn into a weird noodle person. Chopper stares at him and wonders if there is any medicine for hopeless idiots like Sanji. All three of them head back to Thousand Sunny.

~()()()~

Later in the evening, the crew gathers in the dining hall to hear two devastating news. First, according to Nami, there's been a series of murders happening within the nearby areas. And majority of the people killed were either pirates from various pirate crews, or captains. The Straw Hats might be the next target due to the crew's large bounty total. Second, is that a rumored 'Dark Angel' is back and in the nearby islands. But Nami wasn't able to get anymore detail about this so called "Dark Angel".

"But enough of that, Robin did you get the translation?" Nami asks.

"Yes, I did." Robin takes the book out and begins to tell the story of the 'Dark Angel'. "According to the head of the museum, the story starts every 100 years. There needs to be two twins born, either male or female but that doesn't matter. Anyways, the story states that there will be one twin – often the older one – born with a cursed power called 'dark power'. That gives that twin the power to destroy anything in the world. They hold all forms of destruction in their hands."

"Wahhhh! Scary!" Usopp and Chopper both scream out, only to receive a hit form Nami.

"Shut it! Robin continue."

"Thank you. Anyways, to balance out that power, the other twin is granted with the power of peace. That twin holds all forms of peace and harmony in their hands, making them truly a pair of Yin-Yang powers."

"Wow! That's amazing!" Luffy cries out, again only to receive a kick from Sanji.

"Shut it Gomu! Robin-Chwan! Continue!"

"This story tells the tale of a pair of twins, one boy and one girl. For many years they lived peacefully together in a small village in the rural parts of China where they hold secrets to the land. Whenever the twins are displeased, the girl would throw earthquakes and droughts upon the villagers. But whenever the twins are pleased, the boy would throw prosperity and gold for them.

"This continued on for years, until a tragic accident happened. The Yang (The boy) was killed in a freak accident. Though the novel does not say what type of accident it was, the accident was tragic enough to kill the light in the group. This caused the girl to spin her range out of control, throwing herself only into grief. Thus creating the illusion of a dark angel," Robin says, holding up the picture that was lying in it.

The picture depicts a young girl with pitch black hair, glaring down upon what seems to be millions of villagers. Dark wings sprouts from her back and it covers the village and surrounding area in pure darkness. It seems like no one can escape this type of power.

"So, then what happened next?" Chopper asks.

"The village and three other villages were destroyed in an earthquake and the girl disappeared forever," Robin explains. "But the curse appears once every 100 years and the only way for the Dark Angel to appear is if and only if the twin with the light power dies in a tragic accident."

The crew instantly falls into a state of fear, well only Nami, Usopp, Brook and Chopper does. The rest found the story interesting.

"But this story will never happen in real life," Zoro says. "We shouldn't believe in that."

"Yeah, you're right. No way a Chinese fairy tale will ever come true," Usopp laugh. The crew laugh and smile at the cowards' silliness. Unknownst to them, a black raven looks into the ship's window. As it flies away, it leaves behind one black feather on the deck.


	2. Chapter 2

Rumors

On a nearby island, a lone pirate runs through the thicken jungle. His name is Oliver "The Ripper", a fearsome man whose name echoes fear in many people in the surrounding people. He's known to murder countless villages for gold and booze and sometimes even just for fun. No, The Ripper is not a kind man, and no one is prepared to fight him. That is till one lone monk did something daring that one night.

He called upon the 'Dark Angel' in hopes that she will save the village from utter destruction. But four days had pass and no sign of that so called 'saviour'. That is, till tonight.

Tonight, The Ripper is running for his life. Tonight, the 'saviour' appears, grinning and blood thirsty. Tonight, someone will die.

The pirate stumbles on tree roots as he tries so hard to get away from whatever is chasing him. But that will never be _that_ easy; the monster following him flies at an inhuman speed, gaining mileage with every soar she takes. The pirate knows his life is coming to an end, but he will continue to fight. That's the only way he could survive in this madness.

"Get away!" he screams, pulling out his gun and shooting into nothing. The bullets echo through the thick forest till they completely disappear. The Ripper fires blindly and rapidly, hitting nothing again and again. "Shit!" He throws his weapon down in frustration and draws out his secret weapon. A hunting knife. He grins and begins to stalk his prey.

Little did he know, the prey didn't need to follow him that closely. No, the man was already in the area for the angel to kill. Killing humans was just so easy, she almost stopped years ago. Almost.

Beneath Oliver, the ground rumbles. Trees, high as mountains, begins to collapse into the ground itself. He stares, horrified and dumbfounded at the large and looming sinkhole that begins to form. But then, it stops. The ground does not shake and the trees do not fall. That only lasts for a few seconds.

In an instant, the ground shoots up into a large pillar, bring shame to many termite hills. The muddy pillar pierces the man's anus, making its way up through the inner digestive tract, causing ruptures to explode through his body before making an appearance through his mouth. The hunting knife falls to the ground and is left like that for the world to see. Oliver didn't have a chance to scream.

~()()()~

When the Straw Hats dock on the island, they're greeted with a horrible sight. Headless torsos were forcibly place on stakes for many pirates to see. Someone laughs in the background and they see a drunken old man.

"Gahaha! You guys look terrified!" he laughs.

Nami punches him in the head. "What are you saying!? This is a horrible sight!" The man keeps on laughing.

"They're props! See?" The man rips on down and shows them the stuffing. "It's a Halloween and Prank town you all came to!"

Luffy laughs at the prank, then makes fun of everyone who was scared from the prank. Zoro growls at him and punches him in the arm.

"You were scared too asshole!" Zoro shouts, but he doesn't do anything else to Luffy except glare. Sanji kicks Luffy in the head and calls him a shithead. Then he attacks the old drunken man, calling him a shithead too. Both continues to laugh. The rest of the crew scoffs and docks the ship. The crew disembark, except Brook and Franky who decides to remain on the ship to guard, the crew needs to stock up on supplies. The refrigerator was empty, due to the fact their captain was a black hole of a human being. Chopper, Sanji and Nami head out into the town, as they did, Chopper covers his nose and makes a retching sound.

"Oi, what's wrong Chopper?" Sanji asks.

"Can't you guys smell it?" Chopper asks. "It smells like death!"

The other two stop and smell the air, before making a face. Nami covers her nose while Chopper digs out surgeon masks for the two humans. The mask wouldn't work on Chopper very well, as his nose is too powerful. The smell lingers over the town and Nami notices that everyone in this town were also wearing surgical masks. _I wonder why._ Nami wonders.

"There's no food here," Sanji mutters, looking around. He's correct, as all the fresh produce were rotten and decaying. The shop owner sighs and closes his shop.

"Sorry there kid, I got no food," the shop owner tells Sanji.

"Why?"

"Can't you guys smell it? The smell of death lingers over the town. Everyone here is ruined." Sanji frowns at the new information. But he doesn't ask any more question. The shop keeper waves the pirates off, defeated the pirates obey and regroup with Brook on the Thousand Sunny.

~()()()~

Meanwhile, Luffy, Usopp, Robin and Zoro wander the town, wondering why everyone is ducking away. Luffy picks up a rotten fruit and takes a bite out of it, before spitting it out and making a face.

"Gross!" he cries. "How did this happen!?"

Zoro dumps out the bento that Sanji had prepared for them. All the contents inside were rotting and decaying to the core. A pile of stinking mush falls out, much to the dismay of Luffy. He scowls and rages randomly over the lack of food, only to collapse from hunger.

"How did this happen?" Usopp asks. "Robin do you know?"

"It smells like death here," Zoro says, looking up at the darken sky.

Robin doesn't answer, she doesn't know what's going on. Suddenly, behind them, the local pub begins to break down. The wood supporting the building were eaten away by an unknown force, causing the building to come crumbling down.

 _This is getting stranger and stranger._ Usopp, Zoro and Robin thinks, but they don't express their thoughts, Luffy already did that for them. Someone walks out from the pub, assuming to be the owner, looking defeated. He sits down and buries his head into his hands, moaning over his lost business.

Robin approaches him. "Excuse me, why is everything here decaying?"

The man looks up. "You guys must all be foreigners so you guys wouldn't know, but there's a rumor going around saying we've been hit by the 'Dark Angel'." Upon hearing that word, everyone perks up and listens in.

"What do you mean by that old man?" Luffy asks, walking up and sticking his finger in his nose and picking it.

"You don't understand the legend do you?" All of them nod. "Well, there's another part to it. You'll know when your town is hit when the smell of death and decay lingers in the air. During the first few days, the smell isn't very strong but as the month progresses, the smell gets stronger and stronger before it starts affecting the town.

"You see, when the smell hits, it begins to destroy everything natural. Food, wood, stone. It eats away at everything till the town becomes a big pile of nothing. I suggest you guys leave this island as soon as possible. I know the angel has, her prey has already been killed."

"Who's her prey?" Zoro asks, touching his swords and hope not to take them out for the fear of them rusting away and rotting.

"A pirate, Oliver "The Ripper" Hexin."

"Who's that?" Luffy asks. Robin explains the horrid nature of that person. Luffy thinks that man is still alive and starts marching off to kick his ass. Thankfully, Usopp grabs onto him before he doesn't something stupid.

"Regardless, you folks should leave before the island disappears," the man says before leaving the crew.

Usopp stands there, shaking at the knees. "T-th-Tha-That's j-j-ju-just a-a-a-a ru-ru-ru-rumor right!?" Robin doesn't know for sure, and she has a feeling the other two agree with her. Zoro grabs Usopp and carries him over his shoulder.

"Anyways, we better get back to the ship before this island is gone," Zoro says, walking back. Everyone follows him. But Zoro couldn't shake the looming feeling of despair that had seem to follow them from island to island.


End file.
